The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to a system and method for determining charges for usage of network resources.
The state of communications technology, particularly that which affects the Internet, is currently in flux and subject to rapid and often uncoordinated growth. The ubiquity and diversity of personal computers and set-top boxes has placed significant pressure on the providers of communications system infrastructure to accommodate the alarming increase in the number of new users that demand immediate access to Internet and other network resources. The rapid development of new and sophisticated software made available to users of such services places additional demands on system infrastructure.
Charging for Internet and other network services is a practice that is gaining acceptance and popularity. By way of example, traditional on-line service., such as those offered by Internet providers, typical charge customers a monthly fee for access to basic services and resources, such as proprietary and public databases of information. Such traditional service providers may also advertise any number of products or services which are purchasable on-line by the user.
Other forms of Internet commercialization currently being considered or implemented include offering of video and audio conferencing services, and a variety of other real-time and non-real-time services. The providers of these services, as well as the providers of communications system infrastructure, are currently facing a number of complex issues, including management of network capacity, load, and traffic to support real-time, non-real-time, and high-bandwidth services, and implementing a viable billing scheme that accounts for the use of such services.
Conventional billing schemes which have been used by the operators of broadband networks typically involve computing connection usage charges based on the bandwidth provided to a customer. Such bulk charging methods fail to accurately distinguish between, and account for, the actual levels of service provided to the customer (e.g., maximum peak rates, acceptable cell loss ratios, real-time versus non-real-time services), and provide only a crude estimate of the actual resources used by the customer. Network operators are currently limited in their ability to asses the real cost of providing various types of network resources and services, which typically results in the overcharging or undercharging of customers Notwithstanding the complexity of conventional network traffic management schemes, such as those applicable to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, current ATM specifications and recommendations fail to adequately address the need of service providers for a billing methodology that provides for accurate and reliable charging of services utilized by user""s of the network.
Accordingly, there is a need in the communications industry for a system and method for implementing a flexible and effective charging capability that accounts for the particular use of a network service connections and other resources by users of a network. The present invention fulfills this and other needs.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for charging for usage of network service connections. The network includes a number of nodes which facilitate the transfer of information from a source location to a destination location. At the time a connection is established with a node, a billing message or cell is transmitted to the node over the connection. The billing cell contains billing and connection information which is copied by the node and used to produce billing information. Information cells are transmitted over the same connection subsequent to the transmission of the billing cell. A terminate billing cell or conventional means may be used to drop the connection when the connection is no longer needed. The node computes the cost of using the connection based on the billing and connection information copied from the billing cell The connection usage computation may also take into account other factors, such as the connection time and the amount of data transferred over the connection.
Upon establishing a subsequent connection with another node, the previous node transmits the billing cell to the new node which copies the billing cell content and, after receiving the information cells over the new connection, perform; similar connection usage computations for use of the new connection. This process is repeated by each of the nodes involved in the transfer of information between the source and destination. The nodes also transmit their respective charging information to a common network billing system which generates-the total charge in a final bill that is forwarded to the user. The billing cell may be transmitted from the destination back to the source to verify proper operation of the billing procedure. Fixed rate and variable rate billing schemes may be implemented and augmented as needed by each network operator.